Our Housing Ambassador

After five years of being at the table, CRIHI sees an area that we can assist in: Supporting Healthy Neighbourhood Conversations.

When a developer proposes affordable and supportive housing projects to a neighbourhood, too often the conversations go very badly. Sometimes the developer has a bad process for consultation, and that prompts a strong reaction from the community. In some cases, the neighbourhood response is charged with fear and anger. Both of these factors contribute to a very unhealthy conversation.

Our Housing Ambassador, Mike Van Boom is charged with building capacity in neighbourhoods for healthy and informed conversation on Affordable and Supportive Housing Developments. Simply put, our ambassador is sent to start the conversation early in order to give the community a chance to prepare for a healthy engagement with the upcoming housing project.

The conversation could take place in a local neighbourhood-specific setting, or in a broader regional gathering of communities such as recent workshops in Riverbend/Terwillegar and Capilano. In the space of that conversation, we will provide some solid information, and give neighbours an opportunity to listen to each other on their fears and concerns, questions, thoughts and ideas.

We do not come to discuss the particulars of a project or to advocate for its acceptance by the community, but only to help a community prepare so that when the time comes, the neighbourhood is ready to engage in what we hope can be a healthy and informed conversation.

Our Community Conversation Toolkit

CRIHI has developed a community conversation toolkit to help neighbourhoods prepare. This toolkit lays out some options for styles of conversation along with some practical tips in how to plan well and ensure everyone has an opportunity to both hear and be heard.

FAQ – A Frequently Asked Question we often encounter is this: “Does our community really need this conversation?”

Our answer: It is difficult to know how a community will respond to a new affordable or supportive housing project in a neighbourhood. There may be very little fear or concern when a new project comes, or there may be a great deal of worry. We are here because we believe some preparation is the best way to be able to have a healthy and informed conversation.